Frequently Asked Questions What Master's Degree Programs Are Included On The Website? What Types of Master's Degree Programs Are There? What is a Professional Science Master's (PSM) Degree? How Do I Update My Science Master's Program Listing? How Many Master's Degrees Are Typically Awarded in a Year? What Data Sources Were Used For the Information and Statistics Provided on This Site? Who Collects the Data and Maintains the Site? What is the Difference Between Sciencemasters.org and Sciencemasters.com? What Master's Degree Programs Are Included On The Website? We offer information about science, mathematics and engineering master's degree programs in the U.S. Programs included on the website are in the following fields:    •  Agricultural Science    •  Biological Science        - Bioinformatics        - Biology        - Molecular Biology        - Other Biological Science    •  Computational Science    •  Computer Science    •  Earth, Atmos. & Ocean Science        - Environmental Science        - Geoscience    •  Engineering (plus 19 sub-fields)    •  Mathematics/Statistics    •  Physical Science        - Astronomy        - Chemistry        - Physics    •  Social Science        - Economics        - Political Science        - Psychology        - Sociology What Types of Master's Degree Programs Are There?   [To Top] Colleges and universities offer a wide variety of master's degree programs. Some institutions offer only a master's degree. Others use the master's degree as a sorting mechanism (i.e. a consolation prize) before the PhD. At some institutions the master's degree is given as an incidental degree awarded en route to the PhD. And at other institutions, there are master's and PhD programs with separate admissions, programs and goals. What is a Professional Science Master's (PSM) Degree?   [To Top] The Professional Science Master's degree is designed for students interested in a wider variety of career options than provided by current graduate programs in the sciences and mathematics. PSM programs offer a set of skills specifically designed to better prepare students to enter the workforce. Usually, these professional programs are designed in cooperation with industry representatives and often involve training and hands-on involvement in emerging technologies. These are currently 122 programs at 52 institutions designated as "Professional Science Master's Programs". For more information on PSM programs, visit http://www.sciencemasters.com. How Do I Update My Science Master's Program Listing?   [To Top] Please send updated information about your science master's program to info@cpst.org. Please include the program name and the name of the institution in the e-mail. How Many Master's Degrees Are Typically Awarded in a Year?   [To Top] In 2004, 555,537 master's degrees awarded, and 118,379 (21.3%) of those were in science and engineering (S&E) fields. The breakdown of those S&E degrees is: engineering (33,872), biological and agricultural sciences (11,777), earth, atmospheric and ocean sciences (1,570), mathematics and computer sciences (24,150), physical sciences (4,030), psychology (15,298) and the social sciences (27,682). What Data Sources Were Used For the Information and Statistics Provided on This Site?   [To Top] The data provided on the site are collected from a variety of sources. These sources include: professional societies, private and government databases, industry experts, survey data, research reports, public media articles and reports as well as Internet queries. The data is then processed and presented as information relevant to the state of science master's education in America. Who Collects the Data and Maintains the Site?   [To Top] This clearinghouse is provided by the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST) through a grant provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. CPST is uniquely qualified to perform this task because of our 50-year involvement in collecting, analyzing and disseminating data and information on the education and employment of scientists and engineers. What is the Difference Between Sciencemasters.org and Sciencemasters.com?   [To Top] The CPST science master’s website (http://www.sciencemasters.org) contains data on master’s education and the master’s workforce, as well as information on science, mathematics and engineering master’s programs. Some of these programs are Professional Science Master’s (PSM) programs, while others are simply professional in nature or offer stand alone master’s degrees. A separate website supported by the Council of Graduation Schools (CGS) (http://www.sciencemasters.com) focuses solely on PSM programs. These sites differ in that CPST’s site is more data-intensive yet broader in scope, whereas the other site provides more detailed information on PSM programs. CPST coordinates with the Council of Graduate Schools to make sure that the two sites provide visitors with all of the information they seek on science master’s education and programs. A recently released study indicates that Professional Science Master's graduates do well in the job market.